


The Family Business

by andersoncooperfan11



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Mob, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Drama, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, Eventual Smut, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Flashbacks, Fluff and Angst, Levi is Bad At Feelings (Shingeki no Kyojin), Mafia Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), Mentions of child abuse/neglect, Modern Era, Modern Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan, Mutual Pining, Protective Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), References to Drugs, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, Smut, Worldbuilding
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-30
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-16 11:49:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 6
Words: 18,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29081910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/andersoncooperfan11/pseuds/andersoncooperfan11
Summary: You were taken away from your family at the age of 12, having spent the last decade or so living with the man responsible. Along with his co-conspirators and acquaintances.Your wish to return home was now a dim flicker of a dream inside you, as you have become an assimilated member of the Ackerman family- your father's long held rival.But that void was slowly repairing itself with a new dream, that of the boy who grew up alongside you.
Relationships: Kenny Ackerman/Reader, Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin)/Reader, Levi/Reader
Comments: 3
Kudos: 74





	1. November 16th, 1994

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First story! Hope you likey :-)
> 
> also I didn't want to go with y/n so the reader is named Georgia !

Cold and hard, you felt your weight slump down onto the tile flooring. The snow crammed in between the grooves of your soles was melting, the mosaic of stone beneath you quickly becoming slick. Your hands were bound behind you, but you no longer had the strength to fight against it, your fear was now overriding your mind, your instincts. 

There was no point in breaking free of your restraints, not now anyways; with the current situation, it was in your best interest to keep quiet and fly low until you saw an opening. For all you know that could take days, weeks even, before you’d get your chance. There was no point in making things worse for yourself in the process, and as it stood now, you could barely even see a few inches ahead of you, much less go against a handful of grown men and win. 

Your eyes were still adjusting to the brightness of the room that you were hunched over in the middle of, like a stray, or a kicked puppy. The walls were slowly revealing themselves to you and as you came to your senses, three- no four- men were in front of you as one of the guys who dragged you in walked over to stand beside a tall man in a wide brim bowler. 

You can hear the twist of the handle shut the doors closed behind you; the second gentleman who so graciously assisted the first in your manhandling, stands guard at the entrance. 

“Ah, little miss Georgia Yeager…” the man in the hat approaches you, with swagger in each click of his heels. He bends to your level, in no rush to invade your personal space, but already so entitled to it. You hang your head low in front of him, opting to memorize the tile patterns beneath you instead.

You suck in a short breath as he yanks your head back by your ponytail, forcing you to meet his gaze. “Welcome!” he beams as he tilts his head to the side, getting a better look at your face before tossing you back to your place on the floor. 

A shooting pain runs all the way from the back of your scalp to your tailbone; curling in at the feeling, you are huddled in a ball on the ground. Your head made a dull thud against it when he released you, the sharp edges from the tile nicked you along the side of your face and were starting to bleed. At least the stone was cool against your cheek. 

Heart hammering in your chest, you did everything in your power to not hyperventilate. What was that rhyme your dad taught you again? 

You were normally better than this, at keeping a level head, at grounding yourself- granted you have never been in such circumstances, never known true fear over your life before. For twelve years you had hardly any contact with anyone outside your family’s inner circle, never coming face to face with ‘the bad guys’ until now.

Peeling open your eyes, you see he hasn’t left your side, black leather centimeters from your face. He moves his right leg up to get the toe of his shoe under your neck, pushing your chin up to uncoil you from the pitiful heap of flesh you wound yourself into. Your body rolls on your side in response, you can feel the sweat on your back freeze and crystalize onto your skin. Suppressing a shiver, all you can focus on is keeping your breathing shallow and deathly quiet. 

It is agony waiting, anticipating his next move- the stillness makes you itchy, though you do allow your eyes to trail around the room. 

It seems as though you’re in a parlor room of sorts, maybe a study? The furniture looks to be made of walnut, adorned with detailed embroidery on the upholstery; definitely a room to host guests in. You spot one half of the duo who put you in the hands of this beast, and boy did he have a mean looking mug. Deep smile lines permanently carved below his cheeks- though besides the smug upturn of his lips, it didn’t look like this guy did much smiling. 

To your left there is a much younger looking man; taller, leaner, light hair and light eyes that bore into you. You couldn’t bring yourself to look up at him for more than a second after making contact, it was like he was trying to brand you where you lay. 

He mutters something to the man in front of you, though it is incomprehensible to you at the moment. The man shakes it off with a laugh and the hairs across your whole body prick up at the dark chuckle revved up from his adam's apple.

You were still dazed, cramping and numb in your binds- fatigued after your initial adrenaline rush. Eyes flickering around to nowhere in particular, your vision starts to blur, fragmented by the large support beams on the ceiling as you look up. There is a bubbling of sound around you, but you’re too distracted by how the wood weaves in and out of each other in beautiful arches-

“Hey, you still with us kid?” A boot presses into your chest and jostles you out of your stupor. You sneer up at him and try to wriggle out from his hold on you, awakened and alert to your surroundings once again. But that just makes him push harder on top of your ribs. 

“Ah there she is!” It was a futile effort but you were realizing you needed to do something to get him off you, sooner rather than later, as it was becoming harder and harder to breath. 

“Piss off grandpa-” you grunt and writhe under his towering figure. He bellows in laughter at this, “well since you asked so nicely-” and the pressure he was applying against your chest creeps up your neck, suddenly crushing your windpipe. 

“Stop- Please-” it comes out of you in a gurgle- gasping for air. Eyes bulging from their sockets and hot skin, red hot and puffy, you were now officially panicking. 

“Sorry, I didn’t quite catch that dear?” He doubled down as you desperately tried to release your hands from behind your back, but you were seeing spots. You couldn’t manage to puff out another plea, hardly holding on to your consciousness.

“Don't you think she’s had enough Kenny?” A low voice calls out from further back in the room.

So the beast’s name is Kenny? He looks down at you with mock sympathy, pretending to assess the damage. Eventually, and reluctantly you might add, he lifts his foot off your soon to be badly bruised neck, “you’re no fun,” he exhales, turning away from your body and moving towards the voice of your savior, if you could call it that. 

“She’s just so weak, it's pathetic to watch really,” his tone is cool, though even in your state, you can still feel the sting of his words.

“Don’t go acting like you’re that much bigger and badder than she is short stack,” Kenny quips back as he places a firm hand on the boy’s shoulder. His voice is more lively than the boy’s, it rattles off the walls demanding attention. The sound alone would be enough to trigger an eye roll- cocky old man.

Your gasps start to slow, but the air still feels like knives going down your throat. After regaining somewhat composure, you look up in their direction. You find his eyes immediately, gray and stony like the tile- holding you still, breathless once again. He's staring at you, but you feel him look through you at the same time, stretching his gaze far past the confines of this room. 

By the look of his frame, you would say he’s not much older than you, but he is definitely aged beyond his years. Silk, black hair is cropped just under his brow bone and you notice he looks rather lax, aside from a tight jaw. His arms loosely crossed, leaning against a large mahogany desk behind him, he looks remarkably dull, unimpressed; truly the most blasé teenage boy you have ever encountered in your life.

Kenny leans in to whisper in the boy’s ear, “look at her, she definitely has some fight in her, doesn’t she Levi?”

Levi, huh. 

“It’ll be fun to chip all that away,” Kenny slings his arm over Levi’s shoulders, pulling him closer with an encouraging shake. “Isn’t that right sweets?” he calls out to you now, and all you can do is glare back. Not taking his eyes off you, Levi extends his neck as far away as he can get from the hot huffs of air coming from Kenny, frowning at the stench of his breath no doubt.

Looking between the two, their similarities were becoming more apparent to you. Not in mannerisms of course, but you could see it in their eyes. Slightly sunken in, dark, piercing- Kenny with more wrinkles around them and dark circles under Levi’s. Maybe distant relatives or something along those lines, maybe an uncle. They both had the same intensity, neither looked the type to take any bullshit lying down. 

But there was something softer in Levi’s appearance, not as jarring or angular as Kenny. None of his stubble or stained teeth. Something that was frightening in an entirely different way. 

With a loud clap to his shoulder blade, Kenny pushes Levi off the desk, “I think our new guest would like to be shown her room now, Levi,” begrudgingly, he begins making his way to you, “don’t worry princess, it’s fit enough for a queen!” God, what a tool.

You tried not to flinch as Levi reached down to pick you off the floor. He looked disgusted having such close contact with you, but in what world would someone in _his_ position have any reason to be disgusted by someone in _your_ position? Did you really look that beat up?

After coming to your defense against Kenny, you were anticipating him to be a bit more careful with you, maybe he was sympathetic towards you. Having just been thrown to the wolves and all; alone, young, and just having been recently strangled half to death.

You wish he pitied you. 

His grip on your forearm told you otherwise. Maybe you really were just too pathetic to even bear to watch. Your presence was not that of an orphaned child or a widowed grandparent, but sad in a way that a cockroach squirming and struggling if turned on its backside is sad- in other words, revolting.

He continues roughly pulling you through different corridors, passing various rooms and landscape paintings on the walls, and finally up a set of stairs. Your arm aches under his fingertips; you were clearly weaker than him to begin with, and greatly incapacitated at the moment, there was really no reason for him to be handling you so forcefully.

You wanted to ask what his deal was, but you were pretty sure your voice would fail you had you tried. It felt like your vocal chords were permanently shredded and frayed, dooming you to a life solely of wheezes and dry throat. 

Suddenly you both stopped in front of a plain wood door, with a very small window in the middle of it, right at eye level. Levi went to work on the ties and tape that conjoined your wrists together, and within seconds your arms fell slack to your side- immediately prickled with pins and needles.

The door creaked as he opened it for you- still rubbing the indents left on your skin- and you took a wary step inside. You were still on about what was so repulsive- what about you was so disagreeable to him, to warrant such an attitude; still, he has yet to say one word to you. 

There were no mirrors, or anything reflective really on the way here, so you hadn’t gotten the chance to look at yourself for a few hours now, and nor were you going to get the chance anytime soon. 

The room was pitch black, you weren’t positive there was even a single lightbulb in the room at all. Light from the hallway seeped in and outlined some of the furniture, though what little of it there was, you were thinking that a vanity was not included on the inventory. Now adjusting to the darkness, you take a brief look around the barebones of a cell before you, hearing a muffled jingle behind you.

You turn to see Levi standing in the doorway, holding out a small ring packed tight with thirty or so keys, “the door stays locked,” he explains. Great. “There'll be someone to bring meals up for you,” he continues, just as indifferent as the two only other times you heard him speak, “you’re welcome,” he says as if you're a spoiled toddler.

You’re welcome? He cannot be serious.

You don’t even get a chance to respond, to even fully comprehend the arrogance of this guy- it must run in the family- when you hear the door shut and the key twist in place. Before you know it you’re shrouded in darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Sorry if that was a bit of a short chapter, still trying to figure out the tone I want to set and all that crap. Will hopefully be updating soon :)


	2. November 30th, 1994

It had been a little over two weeks in that dark, moldy room. Of course you didn't know that at the time, the days blurred together as the constant smell of mothballs put you in a haze. The only method you had for telling time was by the breakfast, lunch, and dinner trays that slid in through a thin slot at the bottom of the door. There was no way to even tell when the sun had come up or down, you had no window.

Hard to believe, that out of all the space they had in this big, grand mansion of theirs, they would even have a room like this. They must have renovated a closet space just for you. Marvelous.

At least there was a bathroom, suffocating as it was, but no shower though. Just a dingy toilet and a sink- you could smell the rusted piping of it underneath.

You felt like an animal. Scratch that, you were an animal. You were made to feel like nothing more to these people than somebody else’s pet that they just had to make sure didn’t die. Sadistic bastards. You smelled like an animal too.

Soon after the key was thrown, you were able to uncover the light switch; it turned on a singular bulb, that hung off the ceiling by its cord. It flickered, and you had no doubt it was a definite fire hazard, but at least it prevented you from stubbing your toe on anything. Not that the room was big enough for you to be doing laps in. You had a twin bed, two drawer dresser, bedside table- both empty- and a place to stand. Truly, you were in awe at how little preparation went into setting this up, what little civility they were willing to give you. They had to have been planning this for a while, there’s no way they could have broken into the Yeager Residency without strategic foresight. 

You too, grew up in a similar place to this; obviously you had a room- a real room- with large bay windows and delicate crocus flowers painted on the walls. A bit too old for that now, though you wanted nothing more than to wake up from this nightmare under your comforter to pale pink walls.

Your father made sure to staff the house with security every night; there was a huge eight foot tall stone and metal gated fence circling the perimeter of the estate, and the Dobermans slept outside. No way...no way you were an afterthought. They were expecting you, planning every minute detail, down to your degrading living quarters. It was disgusting to think about for too long. 

When you were a child, you weren't quite sure what it was your father did. All you had known was a relatively happy and privileged childhood. You got to play in a big yard with a bright, beautiful garden and ornate hedges that were easy to get lost in during hide and seek; and you never had to share toys with your twin brother. Your dad always made sure to buy things in sets. School was at home so you learned a lot, from the best of the best instructors, and took things in at your own pace. Sometimes Erwin would take you to the park so you could swing and play with other kids your own age. Your mother died giving birth to you and Eren, but you didn’t find yourself longing for her as much as you would have without Erwin. He was a better caregiver to you and your brothers that you could have ever asked for, because he wasn’t some replacement for your mother- not a substitute for the ‘real thing’. He was just Erwin, your Erwin, and if you were being honest, he was a more attentive parent to you than your own father. By relation, his allegiance to your father, since working for him for twenty some odd years, was also pledged to his children as well.

It was only until you got older, maybe nine, ten years old that you were starting to understand the circumstances of your father’s operation, of the means in which he procured such wealth. You would hear things; whispers between maids, conversations between business partners behind the closed doors of your dad’s study- you weren’t dumb. You recognized the people coming in and out of his office were just the type of people Erwin always told you to avoid when you were in public.

You could surmise that what your father did was a secret, the people he made acquaintance with would be kept a secret, and that this secret could get a lot of people in trouble and a lot of people killed. That was something you got used to pretty quickly in life. Though you were protected from most of these horrors, as the child of Grisha Yeager, head of the Marley Hill Gang; nor Erwin or your father could shield you from the aftermath of carrying out such business.

Countless guards, errand boys, ‘family members,’ hadn’t just suddenly stopped showing up to work. Not to mention, you became very familiar with guns and artillery at a young age, so it didn’t faze you as much. Everyone carried them around, what would be more strange is if you never picked up on it, or if none of the lower rank members had ever sneaked you and Eren away to teach you how to aim.

It was taking them a lot longer than you expected to retaliate though. You knew Erwin must be worried out of his mind, and furious as all hell. Your father too- and you missed them all so much it felt like your heart was beating out lead.

At the moment, you weren’t even sure if you were the only one they managed to abduct that night- surely they didn’t risk such an operation just for you, Eren and Zeke were just as highly valuable to your father. You guessed it must be the reason they took you in the first place; a hostage, a bargaining chip. Something they could dangle over your father’s head to make him submit his foothold on X territory or fork over X amount of money. Clearly they could use it to make some repairs around this place.

But it really was taking a long time. It felt like you’d spent half a year in that tomb before you saw light wedge itself out of the crack from the door. 

It opened slowly, like whoever was on the other side was afraid they might wake you, or maybe they were just bracing themselves for the state they were about to see you in. Once the hallway fully illuminated the figure in the doorway, you recognized that boy from before- Levi- scanning the room surprised to not find you in bed. You were leaning against the frame, knees buckled to your chest. 

“Kenny wants to see you.”

You hadn’t heard another human voice in an eternity.

“HUghmn..?” There was a clot at the base of your throat, tongue dry and cemented to the roof of your mouth. You hadn’t used your own voice in a while either.

He glares at you, “Master Kenny has requested your presence at dinner tonight _missus,_ ” he drags out. Slow and patronizing, did he actually think you didn’t hear him the first time?

You narrow your eyes at him over your knees. Swallowing thickly and in the same cadence, “I don’t know if I’m fit enough to have dinner with his _Majesty_ ,” beckoning to your sweaty and blood stained clothes from two weeks ago and matted hair. The blood had since oxidized, leaving dark brown stains all down the collar of your shirt.

“He just wants to see you, who said anything about joining them for a meal?”

Arms crossed and bored already with this conversation, his words are flat, but vile.

“I don't feel well.”

“You look fine to me.”

You couldn’t stop the breathy laugh that escaped you, “That so?” you scoff.

“...I can show you where there’s a shower before we head down.” he relents, with a sigh.

“I’m sick,” you turn away from him, burying your face further into your thighs.

“Oh, well if that's the case then I should just let you rest here then-” moving to close the door, he taunts you with his threat.

Your head shoots up, wide eyed, and he pauses for a moment.

“...will I be getting a change of clothes?”

“Beggars can't be choosers,” he spits back, he almost sounds amused to you.

Dejectedly, you get up from your spot, resting a hand on the dresser until your legs can wake up a little. You wanted to push past him on your way out- well what you really wanted was to deck this tiny douchebag- but as you move to exit he gives you a short bow as he steps out of the way, “after you, princess.”

Your fists were clenched at your side in an attempt to control yourself. Just breathe, you’re going to be clean for the first time in weeks, you’ll see what Kenny has to say to you, and get away from that depressing isolation box for a while- just breathe. 

You start to walk down the hall when you realize that you have no idea where you’re going. Whatever amusement you thought you saw from him before is completely washed away with annoyance, as you crane your neck back to look at him waiting for you, still in front of the door. 

“Going somewhere?” he mocks you. His eyebrow flicking up a bit at his rhetoric.

Making your way back to him, you can feel your cheeks start to heat up and you sheepishly follow his lead down the hall to the main stairwell. 

On the second floor he guides you to a bathroom larger than your room, it has double doors for chrissake. Levi leans his back against the wall as you go to open them.

“Five minutes.”

You can’t help but roll your eyes, “uh huh,” you’re too excited to feel the hot water run down your back to care about his time constraints, or his attitude. It’s not like you were even particularly afraid of Levi, at least not in this moment- if he was going to hurt you, he would have already done so. Kenny on the other hand…

You gasp as soon as you walk inside, a wave of relief washes over you. A fully finished bathroom, complete with glass door shower, toilet, sink, and even a freestanding bathtub, what a beautiful sight. But as quickly as your high came, it plummeted down twice as hard as you caught a look of yourself in the mirror. Frozen in place by the gaunt eyes looking back at you.

Your skin was pale, and sickish looking; your right eye was puffy and remnants of green and yellow bruising were fading away. You don’t even remember them hitting you there, it must have been when you were struggling to break away from dumb and dumber. The scratches along your face were healing, but you still had a long, scabbed over cut under your eyebrow. 

Though no longer as sore as you were the first few days, you can still see the large purple mark on your stomach when you lift your shirt up over your head. That one punch completely knocked the wind out of you, but hey at least after that they were able to restrain you without much resistance. Good for them.

You take a long, shaky breath before stripping the rest of your clothes and discarding them beside the door. The water did feel as nice as you were hoping it would. Steam opening your pores, the heat numbing and soothing your shoulders as it cascades down. You had to remind yourself to not get lost in the feeling of it- though you weren’t scared of Levi right now, you didn’t want to give him a reason to make you scared. 

A five minute scrub, lather, rinse later, you wrap one of the fluffiest towels you’ve ever felt around your body and spot a neatly folded set of clothes where you left your dirty ones. Maybe he wasn’t so bad after all, common decency was so hard to come by in this household, you were grateful for the gesture. He even brought you a pair of combat boots- you didn’t bother with putting your old shoes on before leaving- that you laced up before heading back out into the hall.

“Took you long enough,” he huffed out, pushing himself off the wall. 

Yeah, or maybe he is just an asshole. 

Reminded of his charming temperament, your thoughts wander to where he even got these clothes from as they were clearly men's fitted, and how he managed to get them in- you didn’t even hear the door open. And then you wondered how long he spent undetected while you were showering...behind a clear glass door...

A shiver runs down your back and you feel sick, actually sick this time, as you trail behind him down the stairs to the dining room. It is a very impressive room, high ceiling with a Victorian style, beaded chandelier over a long, oak table. There aren't that many people seated at it, but it could fit over twenty, easily. You spot Kenny at the head, motioning for you to join them with an evil smile- your anxiety was sending tremors under your skin.

“Georgia my dear, glad you could make it!” he smells like booze the closer and closer you get to him. 

“What’re you doing just standing there, take a seat,” he says with more seriousness than before, and you don’t hesitate to pull out an empty chair two seats to his left. 

From your position you can see Levi stand guard at the door, one hand cupped over the other in front of him. For the first time you can see that he's armed under his clothes. 

“So Georgia,” he begins as he takes a bite of his food, “what’ve you been up to lately? Like the suite?” it's like the question hisses out of him.

You just look into your lap, waiting for this to be over. You knew better than to fully let it out on someone like Kenny, he was teasing you now, but you knew how dangerous he could be.

“Come now, don't be like that,” he coos as he turns his attention from his plate back to you, “Look at me when I’m talking to you.” He said it in such a low voice, devoid of any emotion. It was the most terrifying thing you’ve ever heard. 

You straighten yourself out in your chair and look up at him, trying to look a lot less scared than you were. 

“It’s lovely, thank you,” you manage to squeak out.

A wicked smile slowly appears on his face, but his eyes are still firm on yours. 

Then he laughs, “ah well that's good to hear,” returning to the steak in front of him.

“Furlan, why don’t you pass our new friend some of those greens, she must be hungry.”

He sat directly in front of you, you hadn’t given him much thought since sitting down, but he was definitely that guy boring holes through your skull that night in the study. He hands over a bowl of brussels sprouts and mixed greens, looking past you callously. Out of principle, and because you didn’t want to anger Kenny, you scoop a few spoonfuls onto the clean plate in front of you.

“Eat up, they’ll make you big and strong,” he tells you, clearly enjoying this.

You push the food around on your plate half-heartedly with your fork, but any appetite you might have had is long gone.

“What, you don’t like it? See, it’s like I was telling you earlier Nile, I knew they weren’t taking good care of her over there,”

You’re still as soon as the words leave his mouth.

“You see, we Ackermans eat our vegetables,”

Breathe, just breathe.

“That’s why we’re all big and strong, even little ol Levi over there will hit his growth spurt soon, huh Levi?”

He’s baiting you, that's all.

“I bet they let you get sick all the time too, no wonder you’re skin and bones,”

In, and out, in and-

“Well good riddance to ‘em!”

You pound your fist into your thigh and look up at Kenny with fire in your eyes.

“The _reason_ Mr. Ackerman, that I look so sickly and thin,” all eyes are on you now, and your voice falters just a bit, “is because you kept me locked up in a closet for days.”

Kenny returns that look in your eyes with his own, demonic stare. Now things were finally getting fun for him, eagerly waiting for what you had to say.

“And my father takes _very_ good care of me and my brothers. Don’t you say another word about them,” you are shocked at how confidently it comes out of you.

Kenny doesn’t even wait before he pounces on you again, “tell me Georgia, if Grisha takes such good care of you, why are you here, sitting at my dinner table, instead of at home having tea and cheesecake with your brothers?” 

By now, he’s leaning over the table at you, grinning. Seeing how far he can wind you up, getting in your face and all. You can see he has a piece of beef stuck in his teeth.

You pause for just a second. So you really are here alone, they didn’t manage to grab Zeke or Eren. You should feel more relieved to hear that than you are.

“You broke into my house in the middle of the night! You were outside my door before I could even-” your voice was straining as you relive the memory of that night.

Not really concerned with what you were saying, he cuts you off, “mm, and if your father cares so much about you, he must be worried sick right? So where is he to rescue his little girl, Georgia...can you answer me that?” Evil, what an evil, horrid man.

“He’s coming for me,” your face feels hot and you're becoming dizzy with rage, “They ALL are, I know they will.”

You were now standing, palms flat on the smooth wood of the table.

“We’ll have to see when that day comes then, won’t we now?” he has reclined back in his chair, a small, smug smile on his stupid face while you forced yourself not to lunge at him.

All you could do was steady your ragged breaths. You were at a loss for words, searching for something to say between his beady little eyes. It was taking them longer to get you out of there than you anticipated sure, but, they were coming. You were sure of it.

After what felt like forever of staring at each other, Kenny breaks the silence, “Yep, she’s done now. Levi, take her back up will ya? My dinner’s getting cold,” he brushes you off. As if he’s not the one who instigated this whole thing.

Trying to salvage your dignity, you walk over to Levi before he can get the chance to grab you by force. You don’t recognize the look in his eyes when you approach him. Over your shoulder you call out to Kenny “You’ll see, I’ll be out of here before you’ll realize I’m gone,” you couldn’t stop yourself from choking out those last few words. 

“Thank you again Georgia, for the chat. Fun as always,” he doesn’t even bother to look at you from his seat.

-

The way back to your room is quiet and long. You wish he’d say something. But anything that’d come out of his mouth would probably push you to your breaking point right now; you don’t even know what it is you’d want to hear.

You felt defeated, unsure if you would have rather stayed in your room tonight, not knowing when the next time you’d be let out is.

Before Levi submerged you in utter darkness once again, he took a long look at you with his hands stalled at the knob.

“You didn’t get a chance to eat, did you?” he asks with no real inflection in his voice.

He already knew the answer to that. 

You shake your head no, then turn away to get into bed. Opting to sleep away your returning hunger.

Another pause before you hear the door shut behind him.

About fifteen minutes later, a bright line of light enters the room through that slot at the base of the door. You lazily turn over to see what was pushed through, and there is a paper napkin folded around a mound on the floor. 

It is filled with bread, cheese, deli meats, and a small chocolate pastry too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :-)


	3. November 19th, 2004

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 10 years have past since then.

_Fucking hell it’s cold._

You walked over half a mile before you couldn’t feel your fingers. Another half before you couldn't feel your toes. 

It didn't help that the toe of your boots had been coming apart for a couple weeks now. The rubber soles clapped against the balls of your feet with every step. Your socks were quickly soaked as the snow easily seeped into the openings. It made you feel even heavier, trudging through a foot of snow.

Every huff and grunt that escapes you, while you adjust your hand on the webbed strap, fog and dissipate in front of you. The brief moment of heat tickles your nose each time, causing it to drip even more. It would have been a beautiful night, but given that you are in the middle of doing somebody else’s dirty work, it kind of made it lose its allure. The moon is high and full. Your only source of light for miles and miles. The sky is pitch black against the stars and it’s quiet. The muffled crunch of fresh snow and nylon clothes rubbing against itself is the only thing that echoes back. When you notice the trees start to cluster around you, you tilt your head back and look straight up at the bare limbs. You have always loved how the branches jut out and layer over each other in patterns that cut across the sky. You stumble forward a little bit, having tripped over your own feet, bringing your gaze back to look ahead of you.

Your knuckles are red and cracking at the tiniest breeze, the grip you have on the handle is so tight you can feel your palms blistering. At least you had help carrying this shit, the four of you made the trip manageable to some degree. Why Kenny brought the girls along for this was beyond you; maybe there just weren’t enough people at the house earlier. Who are you kidding, this is a surefire way to piss you off, and over the years that's something he never got tired off. Apparently, you are just too cute when he's torturing you with his verbal and physical onslaughts. 

_Gag me,_ you thought.

The woods are getting thicker, you suppose it’s only a bit more to go. Which is good because your shoulder’s about to give out. It’s not that you belong to the school of thought that dictates women are inferior to men on a physical level- (or on any level for that matter)- but you really wish they would’ve called someone else for the job, anyone else. You certainly did not consider yourself weak, but you’re not built for this type of labor- this is pure punishment. The others are pretty strong too, well Nanaba is pretty strong, but Petra and Rico are relatively smaller than you and you can feel yourself picking up their slack at the rear. 

So much time has passed already, your eyelids are beginning to droop. The rest of the girls and yourself are all hunched over at this point, practically dragging the bag through the snow. It takes all of your strength to haul one leg over the other, your pant legs are drenched from the knee down. You all stop abruptly as Petra slips and crashes into the snow under her own weight, she’s at her limit.

“Petra! What’s the hold up!” Kenny calls out from a few paces behind you.

“She’s exhausted,” Nanaba returns coolly, irritated at his typical apathy.

“Watch it, Nanaba,” he warns, “help her up, we don’t got all day you know.”

Nanaba comes to her aid and once she's able to stand on her own, you carry on. Though she wobbles the rest of the way. 

-

Like an oasis, you see it; a warm light flickers through the stretch of bark around you. Thank fuck. This definitely gives you the kick in the ass you need to push forward, until you finally approach a cabin in the center of a small clearing. The wood near its base is discolored and splintering off, but it’s sturdy, like it's been there for 100 years. If not for the Harley parked out beside it, you would say it looks abandoned. It really was the best place the Ackermans could have chosen for their little base.

You watch Rico as she starts to head up the front steps when the door swings wide open, slamming against the side of the wood paneling. Already feeling the heat creep out from the fire inside, your legs start to buckle in at the warmth. The fucking loon who kicked it open peers out from the entry, ushering you all to come inside. They're already preoccupied with a beaker in one hand, a dropper in the other, muttering to themselves. Hair shaking loose out of a high ponytail, flyaways basically standing straight up from their head.

“You can just set it down over there,” they motion with their elbow, twisting around slightly to get a look at Kenny and company shuffling in after you. 

Simultaneously, you all release the handles of the black duffle after heaving it up onto a metal operating table. It clangs and the floorboards creak under its weight, Hange sets their glassware down hurriedly to inspect the contents. You had met them once or twice before, it was rare seeing them at the manor because they were often here, or at the few other off site locations that belonged to the Ackermans. It was all because of them that Kenny and the rest could afford it. They were the true brains of the operation. 

“We picked him up on East Third,” Kenny explains behind you, “Tubby here was stuck face down, between two dumpsters.” He now meets Hange at the opposite side of the table.

“And I assume he was already gone when you found him?” 

“Ice cold.”

“I see,” Hange reaches over their side to grab a scapula and goes to unzip the bag.

The guy was about 45, potbellied, ugly, and oh did he reek. They only found him today, but it smells like he was lying in the street for a week beforehand. You fold your arms in annoyance and lean beside one of the shelving units. Though you could make your assumptions on what a space inhabited by Hange Zoe would look like, nothing could prepare you for seeing it for yourself. Tall bookshelves with loose papers sticking out between the books, vials and test tubes filled with unmarked substances, and multiple burners scattered over different surfaces. There is a curtain partitioning this half of the lab with the back, and you are just fine keeping it that way. There's no telling what military grade explosives or infectious diseases are germinating in there.

You release a breath and tip the side of your forehead against the shelf. It was ridiculous that he made you lot carry the poor fool when you had two able bodied assholes following in tow. In fur lined boots of course.

Before you even knew what Kenny was getting you into, you had a sick feeling when he pulled up to the house in that busted van. It was a good cover vehicle for hits. 

It was happening a lot more lately, people overdosing on the drug Hange developed not that long ago. You didn’t know all the details, but you could piece it together. Both Kenny and your father’s primary business endeavor is the making, selling, and distribution of illicit drugs, and so, an obvious conflict of interest formed between the two groups. You had gathered that, at around the time when you had been kidnapped by the Ackermans, Hange had birthed an early form of the drug that now goes by _TTN._ But with its most current recipe, it has been killing people left and right. You had seen years ago, gang members and associates at the mansion partake in the drug as one would a cigar with whiskey, but even then, you saw how it was affecting people. Though it was nowhere near as potent as it is today, it is a gruesome drug; completely taking over the minds and bodies of the men you’ve seen snort, smoke, and inject the crap. Off it, they were already monsters, on it- they were subhuman. 

You are trying to listen in on Hange and Kenny’s conversation, but you think the fumes are getting to you now. You are always eager to eavesdrop on talk between members passing in the halls or at various dinner parties at the house, and here you are with a golden opportunity to hear it from the horse’s mouth, but you barely have your wits about you.

“Well I can see here, along his neck,” Hange points enthusiastically at the corpse, “and here too, around his clavicle-”

“I have eyes Hange, I can see the son of a bitch has been pickin’ at himself for weeks now,” Kenny cuts her off, not in the mood to match her energy.

“But it’s not just the sores! If you look closer, you can see he has formed micro varicose like veins under the skin,”

“And?”

“ _And,_ ” they say aggravated and eager to finish a sentence, “that means the drug has completely warped his entire cardiovascular system! No wonder he fell like a ton of bricks!”

They say that way more thrilled than one should be talking about some dead guy.

“I bet we will find some more after I remove the rest of his clothes and conduct a thorough autopsy, I should be able to revise the recipe I have now accordingly,” they say, mostly to themselves now. 

Hange then exposes the blade of their scapula and starts making an incision at the base of his chin-

Nope, that’s enough of that for you. 

You move your eyes back to a spot on the floor, struggling to keep up with the conversation.

“-good, we just need to get people hooked Hange, not kill half our clientele-” 

You blink, and ten minutes go by.

Opening your eyes, you notice you’re slipping off from your place by the shelf and quickly pick up your head, trying to shake the drowsiness away. You feel like someone is looking at you so you draw your eyes up to the spot you sense it coming from. Great, what does he want now?

Levi is standing opposite of you, almost mirroring your exact position on the wall next to him. Staring at you. You’ve noticed he's been doing that a lot more lately, or at least, you’ve just recently been picking up on it. It’s not creepy per say… but confusing… it’s weird but- it’s, hard to explain. Like, was he messing with you or something? You didn’t see what was so funny about it. Sometimes when you’d catch him, the next time you’d look over in his direction he’d be fully immersed in conversation with someone at his side, or just pretending that he wasn’t just eyeing you down five seconds ago. 

You break eye contact almost immediately, choosing to look in his general vicinity instead. Feeling more awake now, like you have had cold water dumped on you, you feel your heartbeat quicken. It’s just so _embarrassing,_ why does he always have to catch you drooling or blowing your nose or something. You hate feeling so vulnerable, usually you don’t have to worry if your posture is straight enough or if you are doing anything subconsciously that might be a bit off putting to others- because normally, people don’t have to worry about others _staring at them._

Your eyes shoot back up to his, which have not left yours once, but widen for half a second at your sudden movement. Your gaze is firm, both of you are locked in on each other. Furrowing your eyebrows, you shake your head forward at him with all the attitude you can muster right now.

_What?_

He shrugs at you in response, breaking your little staring contest to inspect the trinkets on a cabinet to his right. Tilting his head away from you.

 _Bastard!_ You can see him trying to hide a smirk.

“Oh, and Kenny! Make sure to pick me up some-”

“Yeah, yeah, I got it shitty glasses,” you’ve never seen Kenny so over it, Hange must really drain him, “I’ll have someone send it up by the end of the week.”

“Alright Furlan, let's hit the road already,” he says as he waves a passive hand back to Hange, making his way out the door.

-

The fresh air distracts you from the cold, but soon enough you are wishing you never left that cluttered mess if it meant you wouldn’t get frostbite. Once you all reach the van parked off the side of the empty road, Furlan hops in the driver's seat while Kenny cattles you girls in the back before sitting shotgun. They had completely gutted the interior of the van so that they could fit two benches on either side, parallel to each other. Of course, Levi has to sit directly in front of you.

It’s going to be a long drive back to the house, and now that you know you're going to be seated for the next couple hours, you feel your exhaustion settle in. 

“Hey Kennyyy,” Petra chimes from the back, “can we listen to some music pleease?”

You had been driving in complete silence until then, and you can’t help but cringe internally at the request. You already know what the answer is going to be.

Kenny just grunts in response.

“Oh come _on_ Kenny, what’s wrong with turning on the radio,” she whines in her seat, “just for a little while?”

You have to hand it to her, it is a pretty good survival tactic. Petra had only joined the rest of you a few months ago, so she’s still trying to cope with being a prisoner essentially. Some of Kenny’s underlings found her a while back trying to pickpocket one of them at a bar downtown. Apparently she had been getting away with it for some time before that, she hung out around there because she knew the patrons always carried a stupid amount of money on them. Unfortunately, she stole from the wrong family.

They had taken her in so that she could, ‘repay her debts,’ but she had probably already paid it off three times over with the things they put her through. Because of her size, she knew she wouldn’t survive long if she didn’t use her brain somehow- and so, the airhead was born. She plays it very well, you know she’s a lot smarter than she let on, but for some reason Kenny always bought her childish act. 

“Pretty pleeeasee?”

You can hear grumbling coming from the passenger seat and eventually Kenny flicks his wrist towards the stereo, telling Furlan to turn it on in his grumpy old man way.

_Tell it to my heart,_

_Tell me I'm the only one,_

_Is this really love or just a-_

Kenny growls, and Furlan doesn’t wait to turn the dial to another station. Aw Kenny, what's wrong with Taylor Dayne?

A slow rumble of bluesy acoustics and brass fills the car, finally satisfying Petra. You recognize this song from your childhood, but you couldn’t quite place it. It’s so hard for you to keep your eyes open at the moment, and the song is lulling you further into sleep. You think you remember your father listening to it a lot. 

There’s nowhere really for you to rest your head except for the window behind you, but you’re so tired you’re falling asleep sitting straight up. Your eyes flutter closed for the last time, trying to remember the name of the band your dad liked before you pass out. You could feel his eyes on you the whole time until then, his gaze soft- calming like the piano rhythm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> now we're in the present ! reader is 22, levi, 25. 
> 
> im going to include other flashback chapters between present ones, i'm not sure if I should italicize those chapters to make it more clear.  
> i was also thinking about titling the chapters by the date/year that it takes place in, not sure though. I wanted the 'present' to be more like early 2000s, so maybe that would give more context.
> 
> anywayz i hope u like :-)


	4. July 6th, 1997

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Brief mention of suicidal thoughts, within the paragraph that starts with 'Every Sunday,"

_Times are hard_

_. . ._

Your hands are sticky. It tastes so good, you can’t help but lick the drips running over your knuckles.

_. . ._

_Mmm, like a thousand times before,  
Like a hmm, mm in its corner_

_. . ._

The sun is high, it hurts to look up at the thin wisps of cloud above you. Your free hand is stretched out to your side, keeping your balance. The cone is in your right, held close to your mouth in an attempt to stop it from melting all over you.

_. . ._

_I ...see terrible trouble,  
And I staaay here, hmm the saame_

_. . ._

Strawberry. With little bits in it.

_. . ._

_I’m a foool to do your dirty work,  
Ohh, yeaah…_

__

__

_. . ._

Something catches your eye. Something red, and round.

_. . ._

_I don’t want to-_

You felt a hand at your elbow before you even realized you were falling. There was a crack in asphalt where you were stepping, just as your attention had gone to the big red ball in the sky. 

“Careful kid,” he grunts next to you, right by your ear. 

You turn your head quickly to look at him. Tripping over a silly little curb, how embarrassing. 

“Mmh, oh yeah… thanks,” you still had a bit of ice cream in your mouth. It was probably smeared over your upper lip, now that you think about it. You turn away just as quickly, hiding your mustache. 

“Tch, just watch where you’re going next time. Then you won’t eat shit,” he’s back to his place behind you after you’ve steadied yourself. A ghost of a hand leaves your side that you didn’t even notice was there before.

“Yeah, yeah. Then what? Walk around like I have a stick up my butt for the rest of my life?”

You can feel him glaring at the back of your head.

“Least I know how to keep two feet on the ground, brat,” insinuating that yes, Levi does in fact look like he walks around with a huge stick up his butt- “and I don’t even look like that either.”

You let a small laugh out, “Yeah because you’re so loose… real easygoing.”

There was a slight tremor that rolled beneath the concrete at the shear magnitude of his eye roll. 

“And you’re quite the delight kid, always one to value peace and quiet,” Levi hated the way you hummed songs to yourself. How you stomped instead of walked. How many questions you asked and the unnecessarily brassy comments you made. 

Every Sunday Levi would come to collect you at your room and take you out for the day. It was usually for no more than a few hours or so, but you secretly cherished that time, however short it was. At this point, you’ve been going on these weekly excursions for roughly two years. You are pretty sure they began out of fear you might find a way to kill yourself if you didn’t get any fresh air.

It was a good opportunity to learn more about him, though he very rarely indulged you with matters concerning the household or Kenny. Especially so, when you dared ask him something personal, like what normal teenage activity he enjoyed, if any, or what kind of CDs he listened to. 

You saw him linger by a rack of OK Computer disks once when he took you out shopping. That was the most you were going to get out of that. 

You pause where you are on the curb, still using it as a balancing beam, and frown. Levi stops next to you and follows your gaze to a house a block down the road. It's a quaint two story, white picket fence- mother, father, two and a half kids, and a dog type deal. You can see rough dirt patches between rows of neatly kept grass, and the paint on the outer edges of the fence is chipping, but it is a home.

Peeking out from the backyard, you can just barely see the tops of several red, round somethings. It was a balloon that caused you to trip. A red, freshly aired, rubber balloon. It must have caught loose from being poorly tied to the back of a folding chair. 

From where you both were standing, you could hear a faint melody of some pop song playing from a stereo. Laughing and splashing too, seems as though they have one of those above ground pools.

Levi was looking at you now, your eyes were glued to the birthday party happening just across the street. He could tell you were holding onto something; though he didn’t like it all that much when you would talk yourself into a hole, it was much stranger for him to see you speechless. It made him a little uneasy.

With an exaggerated sigh, “Alright, what’s wrong?” 

You don’t really hear him the first time. You do, but, you can’t get the image of jumping into cold chlorine water out of your head.

“Spit it out, kid.”

You shake yourself out of your daze and half-heartedly turn to him, “I’m just jealous of their pool.”

Bashfully looking down at your feet, “it’s just so hot out today,” you say with a forced smile.

He is still looking at you, with a small furrow in his brow. Placing his hands in his pockets and taking his eyes off you he starts walking forwards again. “You can use the hose in the back when we get to the house if you’re so hot,” bitter as always, but it feels softer than usual.

“You coming?” He calls back to you, still stuck in place by the hypnotic sound of dance music and kids screeching. 

You begin moving again, but you can’t help yourself when the party is getting louder and louder, and the house is now right to your left. Stopping midstep, staring straight ahead at the baby blue front door, you are practically vibrating with several hundred racing thoughts in your head.

“Levi,” you begin to ask, looking out at the picture-perfect windows and shingled roof.

“Hmm,” he’s still taking lead, thinking that you’re keeping pace behind him.

“When’s your birthday?”

He stops immediately, stiffening as the question reaches him. You say those words so innocently, but they nonetheless bother him so.

“Why would you want to know something like that, brat?” There is a twang of anger in his tone. Of course, this is how he usually reacts to your incessant pestering, but you feel he’s caught off guard a little bit. He’s more defensive.

You take a moment to process this, you’re not really in the mood to poke the bear any further.

“I was just wondering if your birthday was in the summer or not,” you slowly move to face him, “I just can’t imagine you ever having a pool party for yourself,”

The stilled air around you both picks up again with a quiet breeze after you speak.

“Or going to someone else’s for that matter,” you say with playfulness. Your smile is small, but it’s real this time. It really is hard to imagine Levi at a pool party, in patterned trunks trying not to get sunburned. What would he even do there? Judging everyone else from underneath the awning most likely- captain fun everybody. Funny, but definitely hard to imagine.

Looking up from the ground, his shoulders ease up a bit. He looks to you and sees that the tension has left your face and you are once again giggling to yourself. Half turned to you, he flashes a rare, but brief smile at you, “yeah, me either,” he breathes out with a chuckle.

He then starts walking again, unclenching the fists in his pants pockets. 

You hurry to catch up and start walking in step with him, asking again, “So then, when _is_ your birthday?”

He is not angry as he was before, but he still huffs and shakes his head.

Defeatedly he lets it slip, “Winter,” he sighs and tilts his head up slightly to look at the passing cable lines, “Christmas day, actually.”

“Ohh! So that’s why you’ve never celebrated at the house before,” you say very matter of factly, “Kenny must combine the Christmas party with yours every year. Cheap bastard,” you laugh. You turn your attention back to the nearly finished cone in your hand, nibbling at the sugary wafer.

That was so Kenny, saving any penny he could, even at the cost of neglecting his only nephew on his birthday every year. At least Levi got to eat a nice roast dinner and have all family and friends over on his birthday, even if there was never any cake. Maybe he wouldn’t actually like that last bit, celebrating with a big group, but he must get _something_ from Kenny every year, he is his one and only nephew. The closest thing he has to a son really. You wonder what Levi would even ask for on his birthday. What he would have asked Santa for, years ago. You laugh to yourself again at the thought of little Levi writing a formal business letter to Mr. Saint Nicholas, complete with a wax seal and everything. 

At your sudden outburst, Levi side eyes you. He was going to say something a bit crude, but bites his tongue. The want to do so had left him at that point.

He hums instead, drawing his eyes forward again, “Mm, yeah that’s why.”

He sees you crumple the wrapping to your cone in your pocket, wiping your hand against your jeans after you do so. It’s truly revolting to him how poorly you take care of your things, and how sticky your hand must be right now. You would think that, being raised by the family you were born in, and by already not having the best quality bedding or clothes back at the manor, you would think twice before rubbing artificial dairy product all over your pant leg. Maybe _you_ wouldn’t, but he certainly would think that. He had become used to your habits by now, but it did not mean he had to be okay with them.

Yet he holds back from making a snide comment about it, trying to ignore it as you continue walking in step together. It is quiet the rest of the way back, aside from the pounding of your heels against pavement.

And the low buzz of cicadas.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for not updating in a while! i want to get chapter 5 out soon, i'll probably work on it tomorrow ha
> 
> anyways i hope you like, this is another flashback type chapter, sorry i know this is a slow start.


	5. November 20th, 2004

A ton of bricks were sitting on you over the duvet. That’s what it felt like at least. After carrying a couple hundred pounds for about five miles, yeah, you were sore. Dead guy did a number on your back. 

It's about seven in the morning when Levi steps into your bedroom. He knocks softly before opening the door, there is no way you’re out of bed yet, but he thought he’d give a little warning before coming in, just in case. There is a lot that needed to get done for tonight, but he didn’t want to wake you just yet. You look so calm, and so deeply asleep. He watches you for a few minutes before you begin to stir, and instantly puts a hand to your shoulder before he can see you’re about to open your eyes.

“Jo, it’s time to get up,” he whispers over you, giving you a light shake. You feel his warm breath against your cheek before you feel the heaviness in your muscles. 

You let out a small, whiny groan and nestle your chin further into your covers, so that only your nose is peaking out. It was way too early for this shit.

He would never admit it, but he felt really bad disturbing you like this. Against his better judgement, he goes to move a strand of hair out of your face and tries again, but you are still unresponsive. Eyebrows twitching at something you’re seeing in your half-awake, half-asleep stasis. He should just let you rest honestly, he saw how exhausted you were feeling last night- and now he was waking you up to go and do more work. Contemplating just letting you have another hour or so, he hears a little snort and sees that you’re grumbling something that could be translated into ‘leave me the hell alone, I’m sleeping.’ But then again, grumpy you was kind of cute. 

“Get your ass up already,” feeling a little less guilty about it, he pulls the blanket off you in one swift movement. Exposing the cheap pajama pants and t-shirt you sleep in during the winter.

“God Levi, what the hell?!” You yell, but your eyes are still closed and your limbs are still sunken into the mattress. 

“Petra’s already downstairs, you really think she can handle it on her own?” 

You hate how nonchalant he’s being right now.

“Petra’s a big girl, she can start without me,” you fire back, annoyed and searching the end of the bed for your blanket with your foot.

Levi’s holding it off the ground in his hand, “Well when Petra ends up burning the house down, she’s not the one who’ll get flack for it.”

Knowing that there is probably a fifty percent chance of this happening, you sling one leg over the edge of the bed; followed by the second with a grunt.

“Uggh, FINE,” you now fully open your eyes and situate your hands by your lower back so you can push yourself off the bed, “Gimme a minute, will you?”

“Quickly now, Yeager,” you can tell he’s satisfied with himself as he’s walking out of the room, leaving you to get dressed. 

Once you are fully sitting upright on the mattress, you have to take a moment before you even try getting up. Everything aches, everything. Even the pads of your finger tips. And you can feel a huge kink at the back of your neck.

You roll your shoulders and rotate your neck in a circular motion, back and forth, releasing any sleepiness still hiding in the air pockets of your joints. The bed creaks under you as you push down on your hands, only able to lift your ass approximately two inches off it. You flop back down and the mattress jiggles you as the box springs shift under your weight.

You go over the day’s itinerary in your mind while you mentally and physically prepare yourself for your second attempt. There are already a few chickens marinating in the fridge to be roasted later, so that’s easy. You have to make bread rolls and pastries for dessert still- the linen needs to be washed as well. Eyes rolling to the back of your head, you rub your hands over your face. This is already overwhelming.

Breathing in deeply, you hoist yourself up and land two feet on the cold hardwood floor.  
_Might as well get this shitshow on the road._

On shaky legs, you make your way over to the dresser and pull out some clean underwear and black cotton shirt from the drawer. Your denims are somewhere on the ground already, definitely inside out. You reach to pull each pant leg right side out once you find them, then begin the mundane process of getting into work mode. But instead of going to work; you know, the place one applies for and gets paid to go to- you are more of a live-in maid. Well since Kenny already has a few older women who fill that position, you are more like a servant; an unpaid servant, forced to do manual labor against her will. Pretty sweet gig.

Tonight is another infamous Ackerman dinner party, which has been happening for years now- ever since you arrived there really. In the past they used to occur every week, or at least every other Saturday night. Now they were more scarce, usually the second to last weekend of every month, and oh how you loathe them.

It’s all the same, back then and now. The entire family gets together; acquaintances and incoming members, potential business partners and the like. They pig out on lavish foods, drink to no end, and gamble away what they would consider pocket change- all in the name of comradery and self-congratulation. The celebration of how many people they were able to get hooked on _TTN_ that week like some vicious quota.

However, you know what to expect at these gatherings, or more like, what is expected of you. It had become familiar to you at this point; the black stockings and unfamiliar hands riding up your thigh as you refill a glass of wine, the stares, the ravaging of your figure with just their eyes. All you wear is a knee length skirt and button down, but you guess scummy men will always find a way to reduce you to nice tits and a hole to fuck.

You have been there a lot longer than the other girls have, so you have had years of practice compartmentalizing these events, these perverse experiences, so you could survive them without punishment. That had not been the case for you the first few years you had to attend. The role you are expected to play is that of the docile, subservient attendant. Not to back talk, or stand up for yourself- not to say no, ever, or to refuse any request. You serve food, poor drinks, and look pretty. Sometimes, and _only_ sometimes, would you and the girls be allowed to act as an escort for the night. This was usually in instances when Kenny was trying to set up a covert plan to gain a new alliance or set up a hit on a group that did him wrong. What better distraction than girls, booze, and drugs could you ask for?

At the end of the day, it was all about power. You were there to boost their ego. Kenny’s ego especially. They showed you off to people they were trying to impress; they berated and degraded you in front of their friends. If you have the power to demean some bitch, then get her to bring you a beer, could anyone touch you? Could the world even hurt someone with that power? 

-

You meet Levi outside and he gives you a once over before nodding his head to usher you forward. He had been leaning against the wall, eyes nearly closed as he waited for you. Light from the rising sun had now trickled into the hallway, illuminating his pale face. Levi’s steps are silent, but quick behind you as you make your way to the end of the hall and down the stairs. Just as you are heading towards the kitchen he grabs your arm and twists you around to face him. His grip is firm, but not demanding as he holds onto your wrist.

He is quiet for a minute, just looking between your eyes trying to decide on how to say, what he wants to say. He looks tired.

“Hey Jo, don’t,” he pauses, not confident in the words he has chosen, “don’t worry about tonight. I don’t have anywhere to be, I’ll be eating with them tonight.”

You knit your eyebrows together in confusion. What is he getting at, exactly?

“Levi,” you start, still suspicious of his demeanor, “I think I can handle my own… I’ve _been_ handling my own, you know.”

You know Levi knows this. He knows, he knows this for chrissake, but he still looks at you unconvinced. Did he know something you didn’t? You did not even think to ask as he was looking at you, silent, but searching your eyes for something else to say.

“Just… I’ll make sure nothing happens, alright.”

You understand what he means. It is just funny to see him squirm and fumble his words when he shows just an ounce of sincerity. How frustrated he gets immediately after, like he regrets even pulling you aside in the first place. 

You just nod in appreciation. By now, you are able to do these functions like a pro- since you know what the nights usually entail, you can easily put on a mask and bite your tongue for a few hours.

He lets go of your wrist and it is immediately hit by the cold. Heat must not have kicked on yet.

Taking a step back from you, he turns on his heel to make his leave.  
_That was strange._

You push through the swinging doors of the kitchen. It’s rather large, two stovetops and a double convection oven. Plenty of counter space too, and a full walk in pantry with fresh produce and every grain imaginable. Without even looking you reach to your right to grab a smock off a row of hooks by the door, buttoning it up with ease.

The sound of glass shattering alerts you to the pantry and you rush over, leaving the top few buttons open.

“Petra?!” You call out, “Petra are you alright?”

You stop in your tracks by the entrance, at the sight of the small, auburn haired woman crouched down on the floor, covered in baking flour.

“Georgia! I- I uh, was trying to reach for the flour on the third shelf,” she admits sheepishly. 

You sigh as you look around to all the glass shards surrounding her. God, what was she thinking, she could have just asked you to do it.

“Ah, it’s okay Petra,” you say, blinking back an eye roll, “just, ask me next time alright? I don’t want you getting hurt for no reason.”

It didn’t look like she was cut anywhere though, _this time_ at least. You reach out a hand to her to pull her up and guide her carefully over the broken glass before you go to grab a broom. She still is looking around embarrassed after you help her out of the mess, 

“Yeah, I will next time. Thank you- I mean I’m sorry-” 

“Petra,” she looks up at you with wide eyes. “It’s fine, really. Don’t have a hernia over this,” you say playfully, lightly pushing her shoulder back to get her to ease up.

“Okay, okay,” she laughs, bubbliness back in her face, “I’ll start peeling the vegetables then,” bouncing on her way to the cupboard where the kitchen knives are kept.

After you fetch a broom and dustpan, you meticulously sweep the pantry making sure you didn’t miss anything. The shards of glass ring out with clinks and clangs as they fall into the trash can.

-

When you get to the dining room later that night, you see a few of the other girls already there, busy with platters of food and refreshing empty glasses. There was a tear in your stockings that you didn’t notice until after you had already gotten ready. You had to borrow a pair from Petra and they are much tighter than the ones you usually wear. They’re riding up in very uncomfortable places.

You had brought out a plate of hors d'oeuvres left over on the kitchen island; tomato and mozzarella skewers and toasted ciabatta with garlic spread. As you pass through the swinging doors, you can see in your periphery that Rico is stuck at Mr. Sannes’ side, leaning over the arm of his chair. Mr. Sannes is quite fond of Rico, as much as that makes you shudder, so it’s not surprising to see that he has requested her services specifically tonight. He is laughing at some old and tired story through chapped lips, while Rico is pretending to be interested. Pretending well as always, batting her eyelashes and tilting her head as she nods along.

There is an empty spot on the table near where Levi is sitting, taking slow sips from his wine glass, not yet picking at any of the food. He looks up at you as you are setting the metal tray down, and you find his eyes across the stretch of table. They are steady, unrevealing of anything, and definitely not filled with any of the concern he seemed to have had earlier. He’s put on a brown knit sweater for tonight, but you can still see the shirt he was wearing earlier peeking out from underneath the collar. 

His hand lingers over the rim of the glass as you step back from the table, excusing yourself to the man you had to reach around to put the tray down. He’s about to ask you to pour him another, but someone beats him to it. 

“Georgia! I’m running low dear, go and open a new bottle for me,” as if on cue, “top shelf, you know the one.”

This is exactly what Levi was trying to avoid by getting you to attend to him. Which he never even got the chance to ask because of course _he_ had to beat him to it.

“Of course Mr. Ackerman,” you flash him a trained smile and make your way to the liquor cabinet in the great room connected to the dining hall.

Kenny keeps all his best liquor in the one place everyone that comes to the manor will see. It’s kept in a large oak hutch with crystal knobs. A fire is already lit under the mantle- anticipating moving the party here after dinner a little earlier, you guess.

You reach your arm up to grab an unopened bottle of Kenny’s favorite Irish whiskey. It’s flashy and expensive, so obviously he loves to pop them open when he has an audience.

Levi has his head bowed slightly, facing forward with his back to you as you reenter the dining room.

“Ah, beautiful!” Kenny sighs in satisfaction as you pour the drink for him.

“Anything else sir?”

He lifts a hand up that you assume is reaching towards his iced tumbler, but to your surprise he places it on the small of your back. Rubbing up and down your spine a few times.

“Yeah, I can think of a few more things I’ll be needing,” you can feel your stomach flip.

“You can start by pouring my new friend here a glass, sugar,” his words are slimy and ooze out of him.

Though he is a wretched, disgusting old man, Kenny for the most part had the decency to spare you from this kind of blatant harassment. You and the others had no real autonomy over yourselves, your foreseeable circumstance, but at least none of you were ever touched or coerced into doing something you couldn’t really consent to given the power dynamic. Besides, Kenny wouldn’t even be into that sort of thing. You girls would bore him.

Despite his verbal onslaughts and threats to do so, Kenny hardly ever put his hands on you in this manner, though he probably had every right to if he so wanted. It had been made clear to you over the years that you were always meant to belong to Kenny. That’s one of the reasons you were allowed to live this long, since you’re doubtful your family would even find out if you were killed, much less cause a stir over it if they did. It has been so long since you’ve seen them, you wonder if they think of you still. Though you were his property so to say, he kept you more as a lapdog than a woman.

Evidently that has begun to change.

His narrow eyes have been more fearsome, more hungry. It was different from how you’d catch Levi looking at you. And now he was asking that you cater to him personally tonight.

“She’s a good girl isn’t she Rod,” as you are pouring out a serving to the man sitting next to Kenny, you can see Levi crinkle his nose out of the corner of your eye.

“Ah, very,” the man has thinning, greasy hair and a pompous tone, “you’re quite the beauty, aren’t you, young lady?”

You bow slightly and give him a tight smile, “Thank you sir, you’re too much.”

The man is practically licking his lips as you step away from him, giving you a better look at his face.

“Georgia,” Levi calls out finally, clearly annoyed at what he’s hearing from a few seats away, “could you come here a sec?”

You’re about to walk away from the two men, _thank you god for saving me from this_ , but Kenny is faster.

He snatches your wrist before you can and pulls you down so you’re face to face, “I didn’t say that’s all, did I Georgia?”

“No sir,” you mutter.

“No Mr. Ackerman, you did not,” he mocks you in a frivolous, high pitched voice, “let me bring over some extra cocktail sauce for you.”

He releases you with a push, and your blood pressure rises as you head back into the kitchen. 

When you return with a new ramekin in hand, you see that Levi is taking a large sip from his drink, one of the other girls must have come over. “Will that be all for now, Mr. Ackerman?” You ask, hoping, praying, he’s had enough of you for now.

“What’s the rush sugar? You have a hot date or something?” He asks, more relaxed now. Ah the wonders of whiskey. 

His hand returns to your back, moving in small circles now. “Why don’t you take a seat, Georgia? Rod would love to get to know you better.”

Sit where? You turn around to find a spare from the closet or something, but before you take one step forward, Kenny pulls you onto the arm of his chair. Resting his calloused hand at your hip.

Your heart is beating a little faster now and it looks like Levi is about to pop a blood vessel in his neck down the table. What happened to him making sure nothing happened tonight? It has always been hard for him to stand his ground when it came to Kenny, not because he couldn’t- he definitely made everyone else know not to fuck with him- but he had too much respect for him. Or maybe it’s more like, he feels obliged to the man who raised him. But you could really use him right now, unfortunate as it is to admit.

Kenny’s hands are hot on your thigh, holding you there firmly. “Rod Reiss,” the boar-like man says, extending an arm out to you, “it’s a pleasure to meet you Miss Georgia.”

Indisposed, you still take his hand in yours for a shake, “Pleasure’s all mine, Mr. Reiss.”

“How old are you now dear?”

“Turned 22 earlier this year, sir.”

“Oh really,” his eyes are slightly glossed over from the alcohol, “you look no older than 18. So beautiful.”

You cringe at his words, eyes flickering to Levi often during your conversation, hoping that he’s hearing this. He is, and he’s about ready to snap.

“Yeager’s pretty for a broad, but she used to have quite the mouth on her,” used to? You can think of a million things you’d just _love_ to say to Kenny right now. “We’ve tamed her now, took a lot of training, huh little pup?”

His hand is moving higher, fingers splayed across your ribcage. Something is definitely going on tonight, you think back to your conversation with Levi this morning. Kenny wouldn’t be showboating like this for no reason.

_What the hell did he know about?_

“Sweet as sugar now,” he lowers you a little, so his head is close to your neck now, “And she tastes like candy.”

His breath is foul and you are properly disturbed now. He brings his lips close to your ear and whispers, “I do love Redbreast whiskey, want to try some Georgia?” He creeps his hands up under your breast, fondling you as he says it.

You’re about ready to puke and you can hear Reiss start laughing beside you. “Here, take a sip from my glass Miss Georgia,” playing along with Kenny’s game, he tries so hard to sound seductive. Anything to escape Kenny’s hold on you, you are grateful for however. But Kenny does not ease up. Reiss slides his glass over to Kenny and he brings it up to your mouth himself.

“Open wide sugar.”

You purse your lips and he tips the brown liquid into your mouth. Your cheeks are hot with embarrassment, you haven’t felt so low in a while.

“Jo,” the raven haired man spits through gritted teeth.

“Shh, Levi,” Kenny doesn’t take his eyes off yours as he watches you swallow the drink, “so, what do you think?”

It burns going down, but that is mostly because you can feel your throat closing in anger, “delicious, sir.”

“Stunning even doing the simplest of things, she’s just as you described Kenny,” you hear Reiss pipe up from your side.

Kenny loosens his hold on you so you can turn to face him, “I’d love to see what else that pretty mouth can do,” you can see how his thick tongue rolls the words out. It’s nasty.

“Patience Rod, you’ll get to have my little chickadee soon enough,” you freeze.

Levi is stiff as a board. You can see his eyes glowing under his bangs. Maybe he didn’t know as much as you assumed.

“W-what?” You utter- it’s kind of hard to get the words out.

Kenny’s hand slithers up your spine and grabs hard onto the back of your neck, “quiet Georgia,” he says so quietly, only for you to hear.

“It will be a long wait Kenny, you sure you can’t spare her for a moment or two tonight?”

“Don’t push it Rod, I don’t usually share.”

“How unfortunate,” Reiss narrows his eyes over the rim of his glass, devouring you.

“Well, I’ll be sure to show Miss Georgia a good time on Saturday,” when? Did he mean next Saturday?

“What’s Saturday?” You ask, unable to hold in your growing panic.

“Kenny didn’t tell you? You are accompanying me to a small get together at my place next weekend,” he smirks as he sets his drink down. 

“She’s _what_?” Levi demands, fully turned to the conversation happening a few men away from him. The room suddenly gets way quieter than it was just a minute ago.

Kenny’s grip on you tightens and your chin perks up at the abrupt feeling. 

“Don’t get your panties in a twist Levi, you’ll get to play dress up too,” Kenny practically revitalizes the mood as he garnered a few laughs from that comment. Everyone once again returning to their own conversations. 

Reiss now turns in Levi’s direction, “It’ll be a great opportunity to tie up any loose ends from our agreement tonight,” attempting to calm the beast. It just sounds like he doesn’t take him seriously though.

“Will it now-” he shoots back, calmer, but not any less visibly enraged.

“Yes, it will be Levi,” Kenny’s nails are now digging into your skin, you wince slightly.

He reels you back in so that he is once again centimeters away from your face. With venom, “Office, _now_. Wait for me,” he orders.

“I think the boy’s had a little too much to drink,” he explains to Mr. Reiss, “Georgia dear, clear his plate and take him back to his room huh?” 

“Ah, the kid’s alright Ken, I understand why anyone would want to keep tabs on such a fine specimen,” you shudder.

“Yeah well, I’ve had enough of the little shit. Georgia, now please.”

He finally releases your neck and you can freely move once again. Surprised he was able to do that undetected.

You pick up Levi’s half eaten meal and put a hand on his shoulder to motion him to get up. He rises, still fuming, but follows you silently into the kitchen nonetheless. 

“What the fuck was that about?” Now it’s your turn to be angry, finally able to cut the act, being away from the others.

“Jo I didn’t fucking know _shit_ about this,” he runs a hand through his hair.

You frown at him while putting the dishes away in the sink. 

“I-” he starts, “I only knew Rod was coming over tonight, I know how much of a dickhead he can be, that’s it.”

“Hmm.” You believe him, but you don’t want to let him have it that easy.

“Jo-”

“Stop, I can’t right now. Kenny wants to see me in his office.”

“What? Why?”

“God Levi, I don’t know! Alright!”

“I’m coming with you.”

You roll your eyes, but don’t argue further. He follows you closely out of the swinging doors to Kenny’s office. What he wanted with you was a mystery still. No doubt it had to do with the slight outburst that just happened, but that really wasn’t your fault was it.

The click of both of your shoes is annoying you. Well the sound of his dress shoes was annoying you. You weren’t even sure why, maybe because he is probably the reason Kenny’s about to have a fit? Because he should have said something earlier… because _you_ should be the one angrier right now, the one who just had to endure _that _?__

__You enter his office together, Levi closes the door behind him, moving around you to stand over by the desk. The room with big, beautiful arches and multicolored tile flooring. He leans against the wood, arms crossed. Looking dull and unimpressed. The tick in his jaw- the only thing revealing his anger, besides his stony eyes. He looks at you, and through you, you can almost see his eyes adjust as he does so. You want to stay just as angry still, but you reminisce, and it slowly fades._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jo is a nickname for Georgia right...? 
> 
> this chapter was fun to write hashjadh


	6. 1:13 am

He says nothing for a long while. No longer on edge as he was before, he settles against the wood. Shifting so that one of his legs crosses the other at the ankle. A small bit of his black socks are exposed above his leather shoes, the fabric of his trousers bunching slightly.

The frustration and anger emanating off the both of you has definitely dispelled, but the air around was still uncomfortable. You had to alleviate the tension somehow, you had already stared at every corner of the room at this point. You were getting antsy.

“This hasn’t happened in a while, huh?” In an attempt to break the ice, you laugh nervously.

What was intended as a lighthearted joke, did not land apparently. He pulls his eyes away from the stitching of the couch or whatever spec of dust he had been staring at and glares at you. You could have guessed he wouldn’t be in the mood for talking, when is he ever? But, you persist out of your own desire to reach some sort of ease and comfortability.

“Is it weird that this is somehow my favorite room in the house?” 

Levi furrows his brow at that, “Yes, it is.”

“Yeah, I know,” you laugh again, empty, and go back to looking at the floor. Glazing over the meanderings of the grout below you.

After a pause, “it’s taking him longer than I thought.”  
 _Just keep saying things, Georgia, something, anything._

“Dinner was only served just before our ‘tiff,’” _god you’re just annoying him, maybe you should stop trying,_ “it’s going to be a bit before they wrap up.”

“How much whiskey you think they blew through?” You can’t help yourself but go on. Levi quirks a brow up, at least he looks somewhat amused now. _Finally._

“We talking Kenny, or the rest of those asinine pigs?” He folds his arms and leans back a little giving you his full attention now.

You give him a sly look, the one you always share when you’re shooting the shit together. 

He takes your widened smile as his cue to continue, “Alone, that bastard is on his eight by now,” you can see he is trying to fight the creeping upturn of his lips, “if he’s lucky, those dick for brains haven’t opened more than three bottles of the nice shit.”

“Don’t you think he’s being liberal with his special reserves tonight? After all he is in the presence of _Rod Reiss._ ”  
“That kissass,” Levi, very noticeably, rolls his eyes, “yeah, I guess you’re right, Kenny’s pulling out all the stops for him tonight.”

“Buttering up his prized pig.”

Levi covers his mouth with the back of his hand to suppress a laugh as you giggle at your own comment.

“He’s more of a wild boar than anything else.”

“I thought he looked more like boar too,” the coincidence only amplifies your giggles.

“It’s his fucking neck,” he turns away slightly to exaggerate his disgust for the man, “all sweaty and purple.”

You cringe, remembering the sight of it. Every button was fastened on his shirt, up to the very first one at his collar. Clearly choking him which made his face blotchy and red.

“And those hairs on his _chinny, chin, chin,_ ” you wiggle your fingers under your mouth in a very theatrical way, “what even was that? A sorry excuse for facial hair?”

“Hey, go easy on the guy, he probably just started puberty. Hard time in every man-child’s life.”

You’re howling now, “Yeah, that would explain a lot actually,” Levi can no longer hold back and is letting a few laughs go with each exhale.

“Like how he looked at you. First time seeing a woman, Reiss?” Levi’s bitterness makes it even funnier.

“Oh excuse me, I didn’t realize the party started without me,” there is a loud bang behind you that makes you jump, “what’s so funny?”

Kenny staggers a bit after kicking the door wide open, but quickly composes himself and walks around you over to Levi. He’s in his usual arrogant stride, so the only thing that gives away his alcohol intake is the drawl of his vowels.

“You. Feeling alright old man? You’re looking a little yellow.” Levi fires back, his anger returns as soon as he hears Kenny enter the room. You are forced to bite the inside of your cheek to stop your incessant laughing.

“Y’Sure you want to talk like that boy? Not in the mood for shitty stand up.”

“Tch. Floor’s yours Kenny, get on with it then.” Levi huffs with an arm out, motioning to the empty space between you and him.   
“I only asked for her ya’know,” you can tell it's taking him a lot of effort to move his gaze from one thing to the next. His eyes are lidded and extremely dilated once they meet yours. 

“Like I would have let you send me to my room like I’m still in trainers,” Levi eyes him under his brows, annoyed he’s even entertaining this.

“Right… right,” Kenny takes a lazy step towards you, you brace yourself for the onslaught of yelling and or insults you are about to receive. Honestly, you don’t think you did anything worthy of a verbal beating. If anything he’s just using you to take the anger he has for Levi at the moment out on you. 

“Well, let's begin shall we,” Kenny starts, then it comes like a bolt of lightning. 

A deafening smack echoes off your skin, rattling your brain in your skull. Without warning, Kenny slaps you with the back of his hand with more force than you thought he was capable of at the moment. You fight the urge to cup your throbbing cheek, biting back a yelp.

“What the hell, was that _really fucking necessary_?!” Levi barks out. Every inch of his body was in flames, eager to have a go at the man. Kenny is massaging his wrist with his other hand, shaking off the sting your face apparently had caused him.

“Been wanting to do that all night,” _now_ he laughs, sighing as he puts his hands down to his side. You are dizzy, but can still make out a bronze ring on his hand as it hangs down. It didn’t feel like there was any warmth escaping your cheek, maybe the metal didn’t end up breaking the skin.

“Oh yeah? Feel better then, you old fuck?” Levi has fully taken his weight off the table, standing alert. Completely beside himself.

“Mmm, just letting off a little steam, Levi,” he says, relaxed as ever, “take it easy.”

His face was like stone, but you could see that his eyes were envisioning slitting Kenny’s throat over and over and over again. Slowly, but surely, you pick your head back up and face the men once again. Your heartbeat is pounding in your ears, still experiencing the aftermath of the shock from it all. Still lightheaded. And you can taste blood dripping down to the back of your throat. 

“So you slap the shit out of the girl you’ve been groping all night,” it isn’t so much a question, than it is a bitter truth.

“She happened to annoy me just enough tonight,” you can’t bear to look at Levi anymore. It’s more painful to watch him pity you, to see you like this. You can take this, you can handle this. You don’t need him playing the part of an advocate for you.

“And of course, I wouldn’t dare go against my big bad nephew, now would I?” There is nothing that bothers Levi more than when Kenny patronizes him like this. They can only go back and forth for so long before Kenny’s authority allots him the final word.

You stand tall and look Kenny in the eyes now, trying your hardest to ignore Levi’s stares. _You can take him_ , you repeat to yourself. You know you can handle Kenny on your own right now.

He reaches a hand towards you again, slower, but despite your efforts to remain a brick wall, you flinch. It was subtle, but Kenny catches it, and it makes him smile. He places a finger under your chin, lifting you higher and higher up so your neck is exposed to him. It is a terrifyingly gentle touch compared to the hand he raised to you not five minutes ago. 

“You are so much prettier when you cry,” he says it with such charm, he almost coaxes you into believing it. The blow had made your eyes water and your neck was still wet from how the tears trailed down it. He loves how it stains you pink.

And then, he drops you, returning his attention to Levi as if he had never said it. As if he wasn’t just about licking his lips at the sight of your flushed and raw skin.

“Rod finalized plans with me last week, no one’s hiding shit,” he says to Levi, now ready to play nice and talk about what he called you both here for. Levi narrows his eyes at Kenny, unconvinced it was just poor timing that left him in the dark till now. 

“Slipped my mind,” he shrugs. Levi decides to drop it in favor of getting this over with.

And so, Kenny presses on, “You will go,” he says to Levi, “and you _will_ behave,” he points at you. You roll your eyes as soon as he looks away from you.

“And who else did you decide to pimp out for the night?” He is still stewing, unwilling to yield to any of this so easily.

“Oh the usual,” he replies with vile unconcern, “And you’ll have Nile, Furlan, and Isabel.”

“You’re asking Isabel to come along?” You pipe up from the back. You are in awe Kenny would send Isabel to a negotiation he _knows_ is going to be as degrading as it is sensitive.

“Got a problem? She’ll do you good being there. Rod might act with manners in the company of a woman,” he spits that last word out like acid.

You swallow hard. It has become so draining needing to remind yourself of your humanity. You have no one who will protect you from losing it. You strip the grief off of your face, “It would do me better if instead there was another beast to keep him in check,” you retort, deadpan.

“Aw don’t tell me you’ll miss me Georgia,” he coos, “it’ll go straight to my head.”

 _You are a disgusting man, Kenny Ackerman,_ “I thought you might prefer it, seeing as how you have such a knack for entertaining.”

“Whoring about in this house, is the same as whoring about in his house,” Levi could punch him, really he is tempted to with balled fists tucked under his arms. You cringe at the sentiment, “Besides, I won’t be around next weekend,” he admits. Levi’s ears prick up at this, _what the fuck else hasn’t he thought to share._

“Yeah, and where do you have to be that you can’t keep an eye on your whore?” Wetness returns to your eyes, but you don’t dare let it fall. Behind Kenny, Levi watches you, seeing the crack using that word against yourself has left. He hates it as well, but in this moment he cannot help but have pity for you. It is painful to see you, with the resolve that you have, to silently chip away. He knows it will only fuel it to continue looking at you this way. Like you have no legs to walk on.

He lets out a hearty laugh, “Well, that’s what Levi’s for! He’ll get you back to me in one piece.” You gulp at the insinuation that you may very well get eaten alive by these men. All throughout the years, you have never been forced into a circumstance as daunting as this, not since you first arrived. If Kenny wasn’t there, surely it would be- no, it _is_ going to be free game. As quickly as his laugh came, it went, “and it’s none of your fucking business where I go, bitch,” he spits.

“Bitch, really? You’ve lost your touch old man, that was pretty weak,” you think he’s probably realized how pathetic you must feel right now. You smile at him. You're glad he’s not babying you.

“Oh shut the ‘ell up boy,” Kenny winces as he whips back to Levi; probably made him a bit seasick, “just get me my fucking deal, got it? I gotta fucking sit down.”

Kenny wipes his mouth with his palm, and sways over to the mini bar tucked away behind his desk. “I’m guessing he’s interested in distribution then,” Levi says knowing that this conversation is soon to be over as Kenny pours his umpteenth ‘nightcap’. “To make it short, yes. Go ask Furlan for the details. I’m tired of whiny ass kids in my office.” _Does he remember he was the one who called us here?_

“Then next time send a postcard if you don’t want the company.” Kenny drags his feet to his desk chair and sinks into the fabric below.

Completely ignoring what Levi just said, Kenny swirls the brown liquor in his glass and leans back in his seat. “You know, if it weren’t for your little admirer, I’d take you right now,” it echos off the glass as he tips it into his mouth, eyeing you over the rim.

“Admirer? I wasn’t the one playing grab ass all night,” he refutes in disbelief. You can feel the heat return to your burning cheek though, remembering how Kenny had looked at you. How he had wanted to suck the pink from your skin. The image of it is all Levi can think about as well.

“Hmmm,” he takes another long drink, breathing in the aroma of the liquor deeply as he does. “Make sure to not touch the merchandise after you take her upstairs,” his eyes are barely open as he says it, but they’re on you. He is just saying it to get under Levi’s skin at this point, but it’s working. 

“Tch,” he turns and makes his way to the door, “wouldn’t dream of it,” then flips him the bird as he holds the door open for you. You break away from Kenny’s gaze and hurry to catch up with him. Before he gets a chance to shut it behind the both of you, finally ending this joke of a night, “Oh and Georgia, no dinner tonight. We need you staying fit for Mr-”

Levi slams the door as he says his name. He takes a deep breath, rubbing a hand on the back of his neck. “Why don’t you head upstairs, I need to take care of something,” he says, blowing air out of his mouth. When he turns to see your response, all of the distress held in his face is gone. Back to his jaded, default setting. It is unnerving how expertly he can switch it on. Shamefully, it makes you feel a little better, it is comforting seeing how he can leave something like that, seemingly unfazed. You desperately appreciate that stability. 

“Where’re you going?” You whisper, unsure yourself of why you are. It’s not like Kenny’s listening. 

“Got to have a little chat with Furlan,” _well that is not going to be a pleasant conversation,_ “I will meet you there.”

You nod and leave him at the door, bounding up the steps when you reach the staircase. You grimace, feeling numb to the events of the night. Rod’s eyes, Kenny’s hands, his ring. Whore. The word floods your mind. How has this come to be, how have you grown into such nothingness? Whore. How is it you are reduced to a whore when you have never been loved, loved that way? Is there something you could have done differently? Why are you the one who has become unnecessary; not a woman, not a lover, not a daughter. A whore. You are not even that. 

You feel your heart tighten in your chest. You had developed these attacks over the past decade; it was no surprise, you could feel the warning signs. You finally get you your room and shut the door quickly, changing into anything else but that god awful skirt. Something clean. 

You sit on the bed and wait for him, _what is taking so long?_ Rocking back and forth gently, on the balls of your feet, you wait- trying to calm your heart. It doesn’t do any good, you play the night over again and again, and start to become angry with yourself. Mad at how embarrassed you got over Kenny’s crudeness, how red you felt anticipating Levi’s response to it. Mad at the silver platters and scent of booze and ripped stockings. Mad that you expected anything but annoyance and rejection from Levi, _did he have to answer so readily? ‘Wouldn’t dream of it?’_ Is it that hard to imagine loving you?

After an eternity of internal dialog, Levi knocks on your door. Walking into the sight of you curled tightly on the bed, with a small pouch in his hand. He kneels to your level and begins unzipping the bag fishing for whatever it is he is looking for. You look up at him finally when he hands out a bandage and antiseptic wipe for you, you’re grateful the light isn’t on so he cannot see just how red your eyes must be. Thanking him, you take the contents of the bag from his open hand and place them beside you, all the while he is roving over your face. You inhale sharply as you feel him put a hand to your cheek, it was still very tender, and it was very unlike him. He is so close you are afraid to breath as he inspects your wound, it is fairly small and will definitely heal quickly, but he still takes your face fully in his hand, cupping you and tracing the skin softly. 

“It’ll bruise,” he says, you can feel his words puff against your throat. The ends of his hair tickle your jaw.

Just as he is satisfied with his inspection and final conclusion, he stops moving and focuses his vision to your mouth. You are so still aside from a buzzing in your brain. He grazes his thumb over the corner of your lips, wiping away a spot of blood with ease. “You bleeding?”

The impact caused your teeth to cut into the inside of your mouth, so yes you had been. However you often bite and chew on that side of your mouth to self soothe, when- well when you are overwhelmed. When you wait. 

You remind yourself you need to breathe before answering the question, “Nothing serious.”

He frowns, unconvinced that you are alright, but nonetheless he stands and takes his hand off you, but the feeling lingers for a moment. 

Both of you know you need to talk about next week, calmly this time, unlike the outburst in the kitchen. You start, “about Saturday-” Levi tenses slightly, “I don’t want you to worry about it. I will be fine, just please whatever you do, don’t intervene.” You know fully well just what you are to expect come Saturday. Expect nothing, but everything. But you also know you need to do what it takes to keep Kenny happy, to make sure this deal swung in his favor. 

“Like he said, whoring around here is the same as whoring around there,” a small laugh leaves you, you don’t even remember making the sound.

“Don’t use language like that, it’s fucking disgusting,” the irony of that is not lost on you.

“It’s just a joke, lighten up dad,” you give him a funny look at his odd choice to start caring about foul language now.

Levi rolls his eyes, “Kenny can shove it up his ass if anyone tries something, you… you girls aren’t prostitutes you know?” You can feel him slipping away, his frustration returning. 

“Oh what difference does it make Levi? Sex worker or not, we’re all girls in a less than desirable situation. We do what we can to get by.”

He is silent, “just, please, this has to go well. Imagine how he’ll react if it doesn’t.” You honestly don’t know if you are capable of going through this again, at least not while this punishment is so fresh in your mind. You need him to trust you.

Levi nods, understanding that it will be more helpful for you to hold back, though it opposes his every instinct not to. He knows that if Kenny won’t be there to reign him in, he would let hell loose on any fucker that breathed too closely to him, much less put an unwanted hand on you. 

“I’ll decide if it’s going well or not.”

“Levi, please.” 

You are tired, so tired you don’t want to think about this anymore.

“Tch,” his humpfs and huffs tell you he is pouting but he sighs and lets it go for now. Knowing in the end you are right and this is the safest foreseeable outcome right now. He wishes he could offer you something else, but he wouldn’t even know where to begin with that. Rest is probably the best, if not only thing, that can heal you right now. 

He goes to let you sleep, but drops something over by your desk. 

“Here,” he is still half-brooding over the fact that he can’t think of any other alternative to dealing with the issue that is Rod Reiss. Then he returns to his own room, sure to not get more than an hour restful sleep tonight.

You would never intentionally follow any idiotic rule Kenny would pose, like cutting back on meals to stay fit. Staying fit, and for Rod Reiss? But you could not bring yourself to eat any of the sweets he left for you, you swallowed a sob and your throat seemed to close after it. You couldn’t eat even if you tried right now. Curse that evil fuck and those fucking bon-bons Rico made. Your stomach growls. You don’t even have the energy to get under your covers, much less make the two step journey to your desk and back. Laying back against the pillow, still in your tightly wound ball, you eventually drift off with your knees hitched up to your chin. While your stomach rumbles low, in intervals throughout the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry i hadnt given an update in a while, school is whack :/  
> thank you to those who left comments and kudos <3


End file.
